The Texas Democratic Party recognizes that we are a nation of immigrants who came across borders to build our national society. In Texas, we know immigrants, and their children and grandchildren, who fought and died to protect our freedom, earning the blessings of liberty for themselves and all Americans. For that reason, we condemn those who use immigration as a political wedge issue to incite fear for partisan gain.

We feel no ill will toward those who seek our country as a matter of necessity, but we recognize that our national security requires us to secure all our borders as part of a clear and uniformly enforced immigration policy that also emphasizes economic security on both sides of the border.

We support the allocation and use of all necessary resources to equip and maintain a Border Patrol with sufficient manpower to effectively police our borders, and providing this Border Patrol with the training, technology and authority to use appropriate measures to ccomplish their mission in a way that respects civil liberties, human rights, and personal dignity.

We oppose the creation of any law that would, through its enforcement, result in scapegoating, intimidation or victimization of those who may simply “look like immigrants.” And we vehemently oppose any law that would make it more difficult for any qualified citizen to exercise his or her right to vote. We oppose the use of Homeland Security waivers to hastily construct a border fence without regard to the border economy, the impact on the environment, property rights or other more effective measures to secure our border.

We support strict enforcement, appropriate punishment and economic sanctions against those who have profited by knowingly hiring workers at substandard wages, a practice common to many employers who are major Republican donors.

We believe that national security requires that we determine who is in our country and what their intentions are, but our nation has the neither the economic nor the emotional capacity to expel eleven million people. We support the creation of a policy that would establish a path to citizenship for the majority of those currently here, without undue financial burden, and with priority for those who have lived or worked here the longest, provided they qualify and seek to become part of our national community. We strongly oppose Republican proposals that they should be charged with a felony simply because they are undocumented.

Any cost associated with assimilating this population, including health care, education, increased infrastructure and cooperative enforcement of national laws, should be primarily assumed by the federal government. We oppose measures that would limit the ability of our state, religious institutions or charities to provide for the health, education, safety, and welfare of individuals, including immigrant members of our communities.

The best interest of the United States requires us to help our neighboring countries find ways to develop their economies and create better paying jobs for workers in those countries. The lure of a better paying job in the U.S. would then become less attractive and illegal border crossing would become less attractive. We believe it is the height of hypocrisy for Republicans who consistently oppose increases in the minimum wage and worker protections to now claim they are “protecting American jobs” with extreme immigration proposals.